So here I am planning a fall day hike to summit local peak Mt. Rose (10,776') and nearby Church Peak this Saturday. Weather is unpredictable and snow has hit the tops of these mountains in the past few storms this month. Clouds cover the view of the peak from town and I know that it'll be snowing and/or raining. Not a problem, I'll pack for those conditions. I'm planning on doing some winter hikes and snowshoe trips later this year anyway so the snowy conditions would allow me to fine tune my clothing selection for those kind of conditions.

I'm all loaded up and ready to go and start the drive. No snow falling at 7000' on the highway, but at 8000' it is a different story. Visibility is finally impacted by the snow but not enough to have to slow down and nothing sticking to the road. A few miles to my trailhead and the DOT has road restrictions in place, Snow Tires or Chains Required. Come on! Are they serious?

I have a manual transmission, front wheel drive, Honda Civic. I used to live near Vail and would frequently take this vehicle from Vail to Denver in pretty bad weather. The only thing to stop me in this car so far is the depth of the snow. At least CO never restricted travel to those with chains or snow tires. For commercial big rigs, yes, but if you could make it go for it. If it was that bad in CO they closed the road. Here in NV, just a dusting of snow gets them all fussed up and won't let anyone make the trip.

Not wanting to risk the fines by continuing on ahead I decided to drive home. Maybe I'll make some woopie slings for my new hammock instead.